Cambering device for cambering vehicle

ABSTRACT

A cambering vehicle having pivoted trailing arms interconnected through a cambering device including a two-piece bell crank that incorporates locking means for allowing the trailing arms to be locked together for parking purposes and also folded towards the vehicle frame so as to provide a compact package which can be readily stowed.

This invention concerns cambering vehicles and more particularly relatesto a cambering vehicle having a cambering device that incorporates atwo-piece bell crank in which the parts thereof can be locked in variouspositions so as to permit the vehicle to be operated normally, collapsedinto a compact configuration for stowage purposes, or parked on a levelor inclined surface.

Copending patent application Ser. No. 713,411 filed Aug. 11, 1976entitled "Cambering Vehicle" and assigned to the assignee of thisinvention concerns a cambering vehicle employing a cambering devicewhich allows the trailing arms thereof to be locked relative to eachother and folded towards the steering frame so the frame and trailingarms are positioned adjacent each other and extend in generally the samedirection. In this manner, the vehicle is collapsible into a low profileconfiguration and provides a rigid package that can be grasped in onehand and placed in a relatively small compartment such as the trunk ofan automobile. Two forms of cambering devices are disclosed by theaforementioned patent application with one employing cables and theother having link members for interconnecting the trailing arms andrealizing controlled relative movement thereof as the vehicle negotiatesa turn.

This invention contemplates a cambering vehicle of the above-describedtype in which the cambering device is characterized by having atwo-piece bell crank that interconnects the trailing arms and includes alocking arrangement that allows the bell crank to be locked frommovement relative to the steering frame so the vehicle can be parked ona level or inclined surface. In addition, the members of the bell crankcan be rotated relative to each other and locked in position so that thetrailing arms are located adjacent the steering frame of the vehicle forstowage purposes. More specifically, the cambering device incorporatedwith this vehicle has a bell crank consisting of a pair of wing memberswhich are mounted by a pivot shaft carried by the steering frame forindependent rotational movement about a common axis. The wing membersare identical in configuration but mirror images of each other, and eachis formed with a connecting portion that extends laterally outwardly forpivotal connection with one of the links of the cambering device. A lockdevice is carried by one of the wing members and has a spring projectedlocking pin which is adapted to extend through the two wing members ofthe bell crank for securing them together in a first position whereinthe trailing arms are located for normal operation of the vehicle. Byretracting the locking pin, the wing members are movable to a secondposition wherein the trailing arms are located adjacent the steeringframe. A second locking device is carried by the steering frame and isadapted to urge the wing members into frictional engagement with thesteering frame for maintaining the two members in a fixed positionrelative to the steering frame when the wing members are in the firstposition and in the second position so as to allow parking of thevehicle and facilitate stowage thereof.

The objects of the present invention are to provide a new and improvedcambering vehicle having pivoted trailing arms and including a camberingdevice that has a two-piece bell crank which is combined with a pair oflocking devices for selectively securing the two members of the bellcrank in relative angular positions so as to allow the trailing arms tomaintain a normal vehicle operating position, a stowed position, and aparked position; to provide an improved cambering device for a camberingvehicle having a bell crank consisting of a pair of substantiallyidentical wing members which are independently rotatable about a commonaxis and can be locked in angularly related positions so as to permitthe vehicle to be parked, operated in a conventional manner, orcollapsed into a low profile configuration for stowage purposes; and toprovide an improved cambering device for a cambering vehicle whichthrough a pair of locking devices allows two independent parts of a bellcrank to be rotated and locked in predetermined positions for collapsingthe steering frame towards the trailing arms and for positioning thetrailing arms for normal operation of the vehicle.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be moreapparent from the following detailed description when taken with thedrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a cambering vehicle incorporating acambering device made in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevational view taken on line 2--2 of FIG. 1showing the bell crank portion of the cambering device.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view taken on line 3--3 of FIG. 2, and

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 show the cambering vehicle of FIG. 1 in the normaloperating position, parked position, and the stow position,respectively.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a cambering vehicle 10 is shownwhich is adapted to be propelled forwardly by the natural input of avehicle operator 12 through the timed shifting of his weight from onefoot to the other coordinated with the left and right cambered steeringof the vehicle in a sinuous path. It will be noted that a vehicle ofthis type is disclosed in copending patent application, Ser. No. 649,967filed on Jan. 19, 1976 and entitled "Cambering Vehicle," and referenceis made to such application for a full understanding of how the vehicleis operated. It will also be noted that although a manually propelledvehicle is shown in FIG. 1, an internal combustion engine or an electricmotor can be combined with the vehicle for driving the front wheelthereof.

The cambering vehicle 10 comprises a steering frame 14 which includes atubular column 16 which serves to axially align and rotatably support anelongated steering shaft 18 which extends therethrough. The upper end ofthe steering shaft is provided with a handle bar assembly 20 while thelower end is formed with a fork 22 which rotatably supports the frontwheel 24 of the vehicle. The wheel 24 rotates on an axle 26 whichextends transversely through and is supported by the fork 22. The lowerend of the tubular column 16 is rigidly formed with a transverse shaft28, the outer ends of which pivotally support the front ends of a pairof laterally spaced trailing arms 30 and 32 which extend rearwardly andterminate with rear wheels 34 and 36 respectively supported for rotationby a pair of brackets 38 and 39, which in turn, pivotally support foodpads 40 and 41.

A cambering device 42 made according to the invention serves tointerconnect the trailing arms 30 and 32 and when in the normaloperating position, ensures that the pivotal movement of the trailingarms 30 and 32 about shaft 28 is equal and opposite. Accordingly, whenthe vehicle is leaned into a turn, all wheels thereof remain in contactwith the ground and camber by an amount equal to vehicle roll. Morespecifically and as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cambering device 42includes a pair of links 44 and 46 and a bell crank comprising a pair ofwing members 48 and 50. The lower ends of the links 44 and 46 arerespectively connected to rigid upstanding posts 51 and 52 at the frontportions of the trailing arms 30 and 32. In each instance, anintermediate connector member 53 serves to connect the lower end of thelink to the associated post by a transversely extending lower pivot boltmember 54 and a longitudinally extending lower pivot bolt member 56 soas to provide a universal connection at each lower joint. Similarly, theupper ends of the links 44 and 46 are connected to the members 48 and 50through intermediate connector members 58 by longitudinally extendingupper pivot bolt members 60 and transversely extending pivot ballmembers 62. The lower and upper pivot bolt members acting through theassociated connector member permit universal pivotal movement of theupper end and the lower end of the associated link member. Thisarrangement allows the steering frame 14 to be folded towards thetrailing arms 30 and 32 as seen in FIG. 6 in a manner to be more fullydescribed hereinafter.

As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the wing members 48 and 50 are in overlappingrelationship and are supported for pivotal movement by a pivot shaft 64which is secured to the upper portion of the tubular column 16. In thisregard, it will be noted that the wing member 48 is fixed with a spacersleeve 66 which together with the wing member 50 is rotatably supportedon a bushing 68 carried by the pivot shaft 64. The wing members 48 and50 are restrained from axial movement along the pivot shaft 64 by a ring70 and a shoulder 72 formed with the bushing 68. The wing members 48 and50 each have a triangular form that includes a body portion 74 and aconnecting portion 76. The wing members are identical in shape butmirror images of each other and each includes a radially extending tab78 formed with the body portion thereof.

A locking device 80 is carried by the member 50 and includes a handle 82secured to the outer end of a cylindrical shaft 84. The inner end of theshaft 84 is rigidly formed with enlarged circular head 86 slidablylocated within a guide cylinder 88 which is rigidly secured to the wingmember 50. The head 86 terminates with a locking pin 90 which is adaptedto extend into registering apertures 92 and 94 respectively formed inwing members 48 and 50. A leaf spring 95 has its upper portion rotatablymounted on the pivot shaft 64 and its lower end is formed with a pair oftangs 96 and 97 which straddle the shaft 84 and engage a rigid shoulder98 thereof to continuously bias the locking pin 90 towards the wingmembers 48 and 50. Thus, it should be apparent that when the locking pin90 is in the position of FIG. 3, the wing members 48 and 50 of the bellcrank are locked together in fixed relative positions and the wingmembers can rotate as a unit about the pivot shaft 64. However, when thelocking pin 90 is retracted from the apertures 92 and 94, the wingmembers 48 and 50 can be independently rotatable about pivot shaft 64and are in an unlocked condition.

A locking device 100 is also incorporated with the cambering device 42and includes a lever 102 the lower end of which is pivotally connectedto the outer end of the pivot shaft 64 by a transverse pin 104. Thelever 102 is channel-shaped in cross section and the upper end thereofis formed with a circular opening 106 through which a threaded stud 108extends. The stud 108 is rigidly mounted on a boss 110 secured to thetubular column 16. It will be noted that the locking device 100 alsoincludes a handle 112 rigidly secured to the outer end of a cylindricalsleeve 114, the inner end of which is threadedly received by the stud108 fixed with the column 16. Thus, by rotating the handle 112 in aclockwise direction as seen in FIG. 2, the sleeve 114 advances forwardlyand the lever 102 is pivoted in a counterclockwise direction as seen inFIG. 3, and causes a jaw 116 secured to the lever 102 to cooperate withan aligned fixed jaw 117 rigid with the column 16 to frictionally clampthe wing members 48 and 50 between the jaws in the manner of a vise andprevent rotational movement of the wing members relative to the steeringframe 14. It will be noted that the boss 110, jaw 117, and pivot shaft64 are interconnected by web members 118 and 119.

During normal operation of the cambering vehicle 10, the trailing arms30 and 32 are free to pivot in opposite directions up and down about thesupport shaft 28 with the movement of the trailing arms being controlledby the cambering device 42. The operating position of the wing members48 and 50 of the bell crank during the normal operation of the vehicleis as shown in full lines in FIG. 2. In order to maintain the wingmembers 48 and 50 in the fixed relative positions shown and allowrotation of the bell crank as a unit about pivot shaft 64, the lock pin90 of the locking device 80 is in the locked condition and is located inthe registering apertures 92 and 94 formed in the wing members 48 and 50and the jaw 116 would be spaced from the wing members by rotating thehandle 112 in a counterclockwise direction. Thus, the members 48 and 50are locked to each other thereby permitting the two parts of the bellcrank to be free to rotate as a unit about the pivot shaft 64 and allowthe trailing arms 30 and 32 to move up and down as controlled by thelinks 44 and 46 when the vehicle 10 is leaned into a turn. Rotation ofthe bell crank during such time is limited by the engagement of the tabs78 with the side walls of the lever 102.

After the vehicle has been operated, the trailing arms 30 and 32 can befixed in positions relative to the steering frame for parking purposesby rotating the handle 112 of locking device 100 in a clockwisedirection to cause the sleeve 114 to urge the upper end of the lever 102towards the boss 110 and thereby clamp the bell crank as a unit betweenthe jaws 116 and 117 to the column 16. As a result, movement of thetrailing arms 30 and 32 through the links 44 and 46 is prevented. Itwill be noted that the vehicle can be parked either on a level surfaceor an inclined surface. When the vehicle is parked on an inclinedsurface as seen in FIG. 5, the centers of the upper pivot bolt members60 will be located in an inclined plane which will be substantiallyparallel to the incline on which the vehicle is parked. On a levelsurface, the bell crank will assume the position of FIG. 2, andclockwise rotation of the handle 112 will cause the jaws 116 and 117 tofrictionally clamp the wing members to the column 16 and cause lockingof the bell crank to the steering frame.

The above-described cambering device also allows the vehicle 10 to befolded and locked into a compact configuration as seen in FIG. 6. Inother words, the steering frame 14 can be collapsed towards the trailingarms 30 and 32 so that the steering frame 14 assumes a generally alignedposition with the trailing arms. This can be realized by first placingboth locking devices 80 and 100 in an unlocked condition so that themembers 48 and 50 are not neither locked to each other nor locked to thetubular column 16. The handle bar assembly 20 is then pulled rearwardlycausing the steering frame 14 to pivot about the shaft 28 from theposition in FIG. 4 to the position in FIG. 6. During this foldingmovement of the steering frame 14, the wing member 48 is rotated in aclockwise directin about pivot shaft 64 to the phantom line position asseen in FIG. 2 while the wing member 50 is rotated in a counterclockwisedirection to the phantom line position shown. The universal connectionsprovided at the upper and lower ends of the links 44 and 46 permit thecollapsing of the vehicle as described above and once the vehicle isfolded into the position of FIG. 6, handle 112 of locking device 100 isrotated in a clockwise direction to lock the two wing members 48 and 50to the tubular column 16. As should be apparent, when the wing members48 and 50 are locked to the steering frame 14 with the latter in thefolded position of FIG. 6, any part of the vehicle 10 can be grasped inone hand and the vehicle can be carried to an area where it is to bestowed.

Various changes and modifications can be made in this constructionwithout departing from the spirit of the invention. Such changes andmodifications are contemplated by the inventor and he does not wish tobe limited except by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:
 1. In combination with a cambering vehicle having a steeringframe provided with a pair of pivotally supported trailing arms, amechanical cambering device for interconnecting the trailing arms sothey move in equal and opposite directions when the vehicle is leanedinto a turn, said cambering device including a bell crank comprising apair of wing members mounted on said steering frame for pivotal movementabout a common axis, a pair of links, means pivotally connecting one ofsaid links between one of said wing members and one of said trailingarms, means pivotally connecting the other of said links between theother of said wing members and the other of said trailing arms, each ofsaid wing members having an opening formed therein, a locking pincarried by one of said wing members and adapted to be located in theopening in each wing member for securing said wing members together in afirst position wherein said trailing arms are positioned relative to thesteering frame for normal operation of said vehicle, a handle connectedto said locking pin for removing the latter from the opening in one ofthe wing members so that the wing members are movable to a secondposition wherein said trailing arms are located adjacent said steeringframe so the vehicle can be stowed in a minimum of space, and a lockdevice carried by said steering frame and including a pair of jaws forclamping said wing members therebetween and thereby maintaining saidbell crank in a fixed position relative to said steering frame when saidwing members are in either of said first or second positions.
 2. Incombination with a cambering vehicle having a steering frame providedwith a pair of pivotally supported trailing arms, a mechanical camberingdevice for interconnecting the trailing arms so they move in equal andopposite directions when the vehicle is leaned into a turn, saidcambering device including a bell crank comprising a pair ofsubstantially identical overlapping wing members mounted on saidsteering frame for pivotal movement about a common axis, a pair oflinks, means pivotally connecting one of said links between one of saidwing members and one of said trailing arms, means pivotally connectingthe other of said links between the other of said wing members and theother of said trailing arms, each of said wing members having an openingformed therein, a locking pin carried by one of said wing members,spring means normally urging said locking pin into the opening in eachwing member for securing said wing members together in a first positionwherein said trailing arms are located relative to the steering framefor normal operation of said vehicle, a handle connected to said lockingpin for removing the latter against the bias of said spring means fromthe opening in one of the wing members so that the wing members aremovable to a second position wherein said trailing arms are locatedadjacent said steering frame so the vehicle can be stowed in a minimumof space, and a lock device carried by said steering frame and includinga pair of jaws for clamping said wing members therebetween and therebymaintaining said bell crank in a fixed position relative to saidsteering frame when said wing members are in either of said first orsecond positions.
 3. In combination with a cambering vehicle having asteering frame provided with a pair of pivotally supported trailingarms, a mechanical cambering device for interconnecting the trailingarms so they move in equal and opposite directions when the vehicle isleaned into a turn, said cambering device including a bell crankcomprising a pair of members mounted on a pivot shaft secured to saidsteering frame for pivotal movement about a common axis, a pair oflinks, means pivotally connecting one of said links between one of saidmembers and one of said trailing arms, means pivotally connecting theother of said links between the other of said members and the other ofsaid trailing arms, each of said members having an opening formedtherein, a locking pin carried by one of said members and adapted to belocated in the opening in each member for securing said members togetherin a first position wherein said trailing arms are positioned relativeto the steering frame for normal operation of said vehicle, a handleconnected to said locking pin for removing the latter from the openingin one of the members so that the members are movable to a secondposition wherein said trailing arms are located adjacent said steeringframe so the vehicle can be stowed in a minimum of space, and a lockdevice carried by said steering frame and including a pair of jaws forclamping said wing members therebetween and thereby maintaining saidbell crank in a fixed position relative to said steering frame when saidmembers are in either of said first or second positions, said lockdevice including a lever pivotally supported by said pivot shaft foroperating said pair of jaws.